YP Letters: Social care investment can ease NHS pressure

THERE cannot be a sustainable NHS without a sustainable adult social care system (The Yorkshire Post, November 9).

Adult social care services provide invaluable care and support for older and disabled people.

Investing in social care keeps people out of hospital and living independent, dignified lives at home and in the community. It is the single best investment to alleviate pressure on our vital NHS services.

Social care services face an annual funding gap of £2.3bn by 2020. Councils have long argued that it is a false economy to pump money into the NHS while leaving social care chronically underfunded.

While local government will have managed reductions to its core funding from central Government totalling £16bn between 2010 and 2020, we estimate that NHS spending will have increased by just under £20bn over the same period.

As a nation, we urgently need to recognise the importance of adult social care and prevention of poor health.

We need to shift perceptions and make adult social care just as important in the public eye and within government as the NHS.